I know there has been a previous thread on this, but YouTube downloaders quickly go out of date and cease to work. I have Firefox with its built-in downloader but, for some reason, the quality of any downloads using it a seriously poor (no matter what settings I use), so that isn't the answer. There are so many good folk and early music videos on YT, many of them just private individuals recording themselves, which can disappear over time and I'd like to keep them.

My current YT downloader has ceased to function and I seem unable to find a replacement that isn't packaged with the adware / spyware / malware Open Candy. Some claim not to have it, then it turns out they do.

So do Mudcatters have any recommendations, without Open Candy or anything similar? I really don't mind paying, as long as it's good and it works.

Peter, I think you're misunderstanding: with all the YT downloaders I can find, Open Candy, which is widely seen as malware, is packaged with and integral to the downloader, so that's my issue. I have no issue with Firefox in terms of malware, just in terms of the quality of the film once downloaded, as the picture is much degraded in comparison to the original, even on the highest setting.

'Peter, I think you're misunderstanding: with all the YT downloaders I can find, Open Candy, which is widely seen as malware, is packaged with and integral to the downloader'

I didn't think I was misunderstanding. Non of the anti-malware software I run (several programs) has ever indicated anything malicious with the downloader I use or the one I used previously. And I didn't think it was likely Firefox would allow add-ons that run malware on their site. But never mind..

If you're OK using a command-line tool, try youtube-dl . I use it in Linux with very good results, but there's also a Windows executable. You need to find the video you want on YouTube, copy the link and use it in the command. For best results, update frequently - YT keep changing their format.

It actually doesn't. It must be an add-on the OP is referring to. And that was the reason I referred to Mozilla not allowing add-ons containing malware on their site. I was not thinking of stand-alone youtube download software.

Open Candy offers an option to install software or taskbars it recommends. This is indeed packaged with a lot of free software, albeit with the option to opt out of anything it offers. I don't think I have ever come across a Firefox add-on that included this.

DownloadHelper (and probably other add-ons as well) offers an option to set the quality of the video download.

Early august youtube made some changes that caused some downloaders to fail.

I use atubeCatcher which is adware free to my knowledge and does lots of useful stuff. Older versions also had an mp3 searcher which would return an mp3 back of (I think) all the stuff on Youtube in a search. Have some excellent things off it I didn't know existed!

For another aspect of this activity, a coworker recently introduced me to Handbrake. It allows you to rip large files to be used on smaller devices. It is what we have used at our university library to compress DVD films that are requested by faculty to use in the library reserves for course use. Distance ed students can stream these videos through Blackboard and other classroom formats.

Really, gargoylre/Gargoyle? All I could find was the problem I started this thread with, that all downloadable programmes are stuffed with Open Candy, which is why I posted. I wouldn't be in the habit of ever lazily posting to find out something I could find for myself. I had no idea you could avoid downloading a programme by using a website. Not knowing that, I couldn't have searched for it. I know now, thanks to Ed.

Hi there, for what its worth I've been using YouTube Video Grabber for quite a few years with no probs re adware etc. Its a MacOSX product that may not suit all users but if you have a Mac as well it should do the job without the adjunk extras. Ive pasted a little from the Read Me file that describes it and provides info re the download link.

Hope this helps someone,

Cheers,

Andrez

…………………………………….. YouTube Video Grabber Version 3.0 (Universal)

YouTube Video Grabber is a Shareware Mac OS X application that can be used to download YouTube flash video files and convert them to different video formats (including Quicktime).

To use the application, simply enter a YouTube video web page URL into the "YouTube URL" text entry field and a preview of the video will be displayed. To download the video's flash file to hard disk, press the "Download FLV" button. To convert the video's flash file to a different format, adjust the conversion settings as desired and press the "Convert FLV" button.

I use KeepVid. It lets you determine the file type, the size, etc. There are both free and fee versions. There are some environments like educational institutions where KeepVid is blocked if they fear file sharing or download.